1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wall plate structure for receiving a HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) connector and more particularly, to a wall plate assembly that has a support device adjustable to hold down the installed HDMI connector, a signal amplifier to enhance signal strength, and a power connector for receiving a power plug to provide with signal amplifier with the necessary working voltage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Following fast development of high technology, advanced and sophisticated consumer electronic products are continuously created and put into market. In a house, many electric cables and connection devices may be arranged on the ceiling, wall or floor for the installation of electronic products. Arranging electric cables and connection devices on the outside of the ceiling, wall or floor destructs the sense of beauty of the house. Further, it is not safe to have electric cables and connection devices been exposed to the outside. In a modern building, electric cables and connection devices are embedded in the ceiling, wall or floor, and wall plates are provided on the outside of the ceiling, wall or floor for the installation of an electronic product.
In recent years, there is a great change in audio and video application. Nowadays, video disks, digital multifunction disks, high definition digital TVs, video phones and video conference products are commonly seen in our daily life. When compared to conventional techniques, the architecture of these new systems shows the characteristic of the use of digital technique to process audio and video data. Following the need for application in different fields, different standards are established and continuously modified for better performance. Nowadays, VGA and component video are being replaced by HDMI and DVI. These two digital video standards have nearly identical requirements, and must handle a set of high-frequency and low-frequency signals simultaneously. The DVI specification and the HDMI specification use TMDS (Transition Minimized Differential Signaling) for the high-frequency (video) portion of the data. The TMDS signal carries R,G,B and clock through four differential pairs, which occupy 8 pins of a 19-pin connector. Both HDMI and DVI are designed to be “plug and play” where the monitor and the source link up and find a way to function together at optimal performance. HDMI is an all-digital audio/video interface capable of transmitting uncompressed streams. HDMI provides an interface between any compatible digital audio/video source, such as a set-top box, a DVD player, or the like and a compatible digital audio and/or video monitor, such as digital television. HDMI supports many digital video formats and digital audio formats. HDMI is capable of transmitting 8-channel compressed or non-compressed digital audio signals at a time, eliminating an extra sound source cable and simplifying wiring arrangement. HDMI transmission speed can be as high as 5 Gbps. When comparing to DVI's 8-bit color depth, HDMI provides 10-bit˜12-bit color depth for every prime color. Further, a HDMI connector has a size about equal to a USB connector that is much smaller than a DVI connector. In the computer world, HDMI is already found on many peripherals and a few newer video cards, with adoption rapidly increasing. However, if a high frequency transmission line is connected to multiple users through a router and the receiver is spaced from the transmitter at a long distance, the strength of the signal being transmitted through the transmission line will be attenuated, causing video signal distortion or interruption. Therefore, the application of a high frequency transmission line is limited. Further, when a cable is used for the transmission of a high frequency signal to a digital TV, a signal amplifier may be used and installed in the transmitting side or receiving side to enhance the signal strength of the signal. However, conventional signal amplifiers for this purpose are still not satisfactory in function because of the following drawbacks:
1. If the location of the signal amplifier is far from the power source and the signal amplifer cannot obtain an external power supply, the signal amplifer may be unable to function well due to power low.
2. If the location of the signal amplifier is far from the signal transmitting side or signal receiving side, the effective length of the transmission line is limited, and the problem signal attenuation, signal interruption or signal instability may occur.
3. During signal transmission, the signal amplifier, the signal amplifer gives no indication. In case of signal instability during transmission due to a failure of the signal amplifier, the user or mechanic cannot quickly find out the problem, and much time will be wasted before the problem of the signal amplifier is checked.